RENEWED fighting between Thailand and Cambodia showed no signs of abating today, leaving hundreds of thousands of displaced people in both countries living in strained conditions.

About 400,000 people have been evacuated from affected areas in Thailand and about 700 schools closed while fighting was ongoing in four border provinces, Thai military spokesperson Rear Admiral Surasant Kongsiri said today.

Cambodia evacuated more than 127,000 villagers and closed hundreds of schools, the defence ministry said.

Thailand’s military announced that casualties this week include five soldiers killed and dozens wounded. Cambodia said seven civilians had been killed, and 20 others were wounded, though it did not update those figures today.

There is not yet a clear path to peace, as Thailand’s Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul vowed to continue to fight and Cambodia’s dictator Hun Sen promised a fierce response.

The new fighting followed a skirmish on Sunday that wounded two Thai soldiers and derailed a short-lived ceasefire that ended armed combat in July.

The five days of fighting over territorial disputes left dozens dead on both sides and forced the evacuation of thousands of civilians.

The ceasefire was brokered by Malaysia and pushed through with pressure from US President Donald Trump, who threatened to withhold trade privileges from the two nations unless they agreed.

Away from the battlefronts, anxious evacuees are the most visible sign of the crisis.

In a leisure centre in the north-eastern Thai city of Surin, about 550 people are waiting out the combat, many having hurriedly fled after the first shots were fired on Sunday.

Officials have provided food and diversions for children. The cooler, winter temperatures have kept the situation in the shelter bearable, but there is inevitable boredom and concern about what they left behind, including homes, valuables and animals.

Thidarat Homhual, a 37-year-old farmer in the shelter with her family, said her mind is on cows, ducks, four dogs and nine cats left to fend for themselves.

“We are behind the front line. We can live like this. It’s OK,” she said.

“But I want it to be over. I miss my pets. I really miss my pets, all the animals at home. I can’t really put it into words.”